Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Features

You’ve got into Royal Holloway! Now what?
Features

You’ve got into Royal Holloway! Now what?

Ah isn’t results day great? You laugh, you cry, you might even drink heavily. But after that initial shock has worn off, you might remember that you also applied to Royal Holloway - which, congratulations by the way, you’ve now got into! Whether you’re elated or disappointed, you’re stuck with us now, so you might as well enjoy the ride! But what does that ride entail? Is it a bumpy ride? Will there be snacks? Well it will be bumpy, as all university journeys are, and I can confirm that there are snacks if you know the best place to look (hint: go to as many fresher and departmental events as possible, they have all the best snacks). However, Royal Holloway is more than just free food and an intense love for the colour orange. It’s fun, confusing, probably stressful, and no doubt yo...
Technology – friend or foe?
Features

Technology – friend or foe?

It has been a busy few months, exams are still fresh in everyone’s minds and in the big scary world, outside the walls of Royal Holloway, an election has taken place. But when surrounded by all the big things, sometimes it’s easier to forget the little things, like that phone that’s probably in your pocket right now, or maybe on the table in front of you. Now you might be wondering why I have suddenly switched to talking about phones; what’s that got to do with anything? Having a phone might not seem important when you’ve probably had one for a while and using it is just second nature. What neither you or I might not think about is how much the technology used to build your phone, and thus the phone itself, has advanced in the last few years. An iPhone 6 is 32,600x faster in terms of...
#7ReasonsToVote
Features

#7ReasonsToVote

During the 2015 General Election, electoral participation was stronger amongst older age groups, with only 44% of 18-24 year olds even voting. Individually, your vote may seem insignificant, but collectively we can make a real difference. Non-voters think their votes don’t count, which is why I have compiled a list of #7ReasonsToVote in this year’s General Election.   We live in a democracy, which means we can choose who runs our country; a freedom that many countries don’t have. Voting is a privilege and has never been so easy. The Suffragette movement fought for women’s right to vote. We live in a society where our race and gender has no affect on our ability to vote. The upcoming general election will dictate the next five years of your life. Who doesn't want ...
Everyone’s Favourite Worst Nightmare – Tuition Fees
Features

Everyone’s Favourite Worst Nightmare – Tuition Fees

Features Editor, Dominic Barrett, discusses the love-hate relationship with university tuition fees. Ask any current university student if they’re looking forward to the prospect of leaving university with a veritable mountain of debt and you’d probably find out pretty quickly just how much they are not looking forward to facing it. That’s not that surprising, but maybe there is another way to look at university fees that might make you feel a little better about them. If you take a quick look at the Labour Manifesto for 2017, a point that might stick out to you is where it specifies that tuition fees for universities should be abolished. That’s great, and would avoid the scenario of leaving university with a whole load of debt. Obviously, this is good news - no disagreement from thi...
PC Gamer Weekender 2017 – Review
Features

PC Gamer Weekender 2017 – Review

The PC Gamer Weekender has appeared once more and was something of a surprise success. The marketing for the event was ever present and something Insanity Radio 103.2FM assisted with. However, the event’s success was due in part to the large amount of games on show, as well how well it was run with different talks and discussions occurring at regular intervals. The organisation of the event was done in way where you could weave in and out of different areas with ease, allowing you to know where certain places were and how to get to them. There were several virtual headset demos on display. I had the chance to try out the 'Killing Floor: Incursion' which is a game taking place in the Killing Floor universe and is a side story of sorts. However, they used the Oculus in way that allowed yo...
Religion and Science: Finding a Common Ground
Features

Religion and Science: Finding a Common Ground

The words 'religion' and 'science' are not often seen together, and if they are, it can sometimes be in a negative context. Here at Royal Holloway we are lucky enough to be a part of a diverse student population, which inevitably contains religious students studying scientific degrees. We spoke to Nishall Garala, the Religious Affairs Officer for the RHUL Hindu society, to find out more about the implications of the ‘religion versus science’ debate for students. Hi Nishall, thanks for coming to discuss this with us today! So, to begin: what do you think about the issue of science vs. religion, and the effect this has on religious students studying a scientific degree course? I don't think there is a particularly negative perception about science students being religious. Most people ...
Boycotting The NSS
Features

Boycotting The NSS

Features Editor, Yasmeen, interviews Non - one of the organisers of the NSS Boycott on campus. So, obviously the main question we have for you is why are you boycotting the National Student Survey (NSS)? Well we’re boycotting the NSS because it’s instrumental to fee increases in coming years. This is because the results from the NSS will go towards ranking universities in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). So TEF is basically a ranking system where universities will get awarded a ranking of either bronze, silver, or gold, and will be able to increase their fees in line with their medal. If our university successfully boycotts the NSS, a successful boycott being the university gets a response rate of 50% or less, then there will be incomplete data for TEF and our university ...
Celebrating medical marvels
Features

Celebrating medical marvels

Medical documentaries are fascinating, informative and wide-reaching, but often toe a fine line between removing taboos around common conditions and reinforcing them. Programmes like 'Embarrassing Bodies' tread this line very carefully, encouraging public discussion around a wide variety of conditions and the removal of any associated embarrassment.  There is no denying that increased awareness is a great thing and can only improve public health in general, but there is a danger of insensitively exhibiting patients to capitalise on natural viewer curiosity and provoke repulsion to keep viewing figures high. Being unwell is a stressful time for anybody and handling medical cases with care and delicacy should always take priority over providing entertainment, even if they waive their righ...
Interview with Nishall Garala
Features

Interview with Nishall Garala

Deputy Editor Louise Jones caught up with Nishall Garala Religious Affairs Officer for Royal Holloway’s Hindu Society to talk about all things Holi Festival, relationships with other interfaith societies on campus, and the importance of interfaith relationships right now. Nishall first and foremost well done to you and Hindu society for delivering such successful Holi festival celebrations for another year. Are you surprised how many student on campus enjoy and take part in what has become a campus favourite regardless of their own different faiths? Thank you, Holi is one of Hindu Society’s biggest events on campus, and it gets bigger and better every year. Hindu Society is such an inclusive society, it doesn’t matter what faith you believe in; we accept everyone for who they are. Ho...
Exclusive: The all-access guide to RHUL’s new library
Features

Exclusive: The all-access guide to RHUL’s new library

The Orbital’s Joanne Archer gives you the low down on the new Library and Student Services Centre. We promise you it’s cooler than it sounds. The latest addition to campus, the Emily Wilding Davison Building, has certainly caused quite the storm. The chaos of an ever-expanding building site has made walking anywhere in a 2-minute radius feel like a pilgrimage. It’s certainly not been a silent development. The Orbital magazine was lucky enough to be given an exclusive tour of the site in its early stages. At first I was reluctant, the building looked like a mismatch of cardboard and glass, not exactly the stuff that fuels Hogwarts-esque dreams. Stepping inside, however, I realised the full potential of the building. It towered in its skeletal form, lacking any protection from the weat...